Azaranica is a non-biased news aggregator on Hazaras and Hazarajat...The main aim is to promote understanding and respect for cultural identities by highlighting the realities they are facing on daily basis...Hazaras have been the victim of active persecution and discrimination and one of the reasons among many has been the lack of information, awareness and disinformation...... To further awareness against violence, disinformation and discrimination, we have launched a sister Blog for youths and youths are encouraged to share their stories and opinions; Young Pens

Thursday, January 26, 2012

TARGET killings have become order of the day in the country and the authorities seem to have no answer to control the situation. Three lawyers and five others were killed in Karachi and another three in Quetta on Wednesday in what appears to be a free for all to take the lives of innocent people and law enforcement machinery unable to nab the culprits.

The lawyers fraternity boycotted the courts on Thursday to protest against the killings and some other organisations also organised demonstrations in Karachi and Quetta against the incidents. Angry people set tyres on fire on roads suspending traffic on Shahra-e-Faisal and National Highway but that is no solution and in fact it is like playing in the hands of subversive elements that want to destabilize the country on the orders of their masters. These killings are the result of massive weaponisation of the society. In Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa too weapons are being indiscriminately used to settle scores on grounds of personal enmity and in marriage parties and electioneering days aerial firings have become a culture. Though there is a ban on display of weapons but one may say that weapons, in the VIP circles security guards accompanying the political leaders openly display theirS arms giving terrifying scenes which is not symbol of a civilized society. Similarly terrorist groups and members of different mafias are heavily armed and they roam around freely creating a psychological dent in the society. In such an environment, people with some resources also acquire illegal weapons for their personal security and there is huge demand for such weapons all over the country. In a society where every third person is armed with legal or illegal weapons, one can expect killings on petty issues and with the passage of time the situation will certainly deteriorate. To prevent it, the only answer is deweaponisation and a total ban on issuance of arms licences. We understand that it is easy to suggest and difficult to implement but it is the foremost duty of the government to provide security to its citizens and it will have to find a way out to end the menace of target killings.

QUETTA: Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) on Thursday staged a noisy protest demonstration outside the Balochistan Assembly building, against the targeted killing of three people belonging to their community in Quetta.

Inspector of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Vilayat Hussain, TV actor Abid Nazish and Mohammad Anwar were shot dead by unknown assailants on Wednesday night in Quetta, in what appeared to be an incident of sectarian killing. However, no outfit had claimed responsibility for the killings.

Protestors marched through various roads and held a demonstration on Zarghoon Road outside the Balochistan Assembly building. They were carrying placards and banners with messages against target killing.

They raised slogans against the government and the chief minister for their failure to overcome the growing incidents of target killing and kidnapping for ransom in Quetta.

Vice President of HDP Mirza Hussain said Hazara community was being subjected to target killing for the past several years and the government had failed to launch a crackdown against the criminals. “Government should answer who are the target killers? And how they carry out deadly attacks with complete impunity,” he added.

Protestors said four people belonging to Hazara community were kidnapped a few days ago from Quetta-Chaman highway and were still missing. “The kidnappers approached the families and asked for a huge amount as ransom for the release of these four people,” one of the protestors said.
HDP warned that they will hold protest demonstrations across the world where Hazara community is residing, to lodge their protest against the organised target killings if government and law enforcing agencies failed to protect the innocent lives.

“We are Pakistanis and do not want to give a bad name to our country by holding protest in other countries. But now we are being pushed against the wall and left with no option,” Hussain said, adding that Hazara community is demanding an end to the target killing and kidnappings.

Meanwhile, Provincial Ministers Ayinullah Shams of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Sultan Tareen of Awami National Party (ANP) addressed the protestors and assured them that government will soon hold a meeting to review the law and order situation.

It’s easy enough to find war in Afghanistan: step out of Kabul, head south and it will most likely find you. I’ve found it often enough: chasing after the Taliban and embedding with Canadian troops in Kandahar. But finding peace, unearthing hope, is another thing altogether. It takes a firm heart to resist the temptation for cynicism, to fight the overarching feeling that every attempt to challenge war with peace is pointless and doomed to failure. It’s a common theme here in Kabul among the foreign aid workers and journalists: Afghanistan will never change; it’s hopeless.

I’ve felt myself slipping into that state of mind in recent years. After 10 years of covering the Afghan war, war had become the lens through which I saw Afghanistan. But then I had a revelation: I decided to join the circus, and everything changed....Continue Reading...

QUETTA: An inspector of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), a TV artiste and another government official were gunned down near Mecongi Road on Wednesday evening, police said.

The three were going home in a car when assailants on a motorcycle opened fire on them with automatic weapons in a street.
“All of them died on the spot,” hospital sources said.

Police said it appeared to be a case of targeted sectarian killings because the victims — FIA Inspector Walayat Hussain, Quetta television artiste Abid Hussain Nazish and Mohammad Anwar Hussain, an accounts officer at the Balochistan Accountant
General’s office — belonged to the Hazara tribe.

“We are also looking into other aspects of the investigation,” Quetta city police chief Ahsan Mehboob said. He said police were checking vehicles and carrying out raids in different areas to arrest the attackers.

The bodies were taken to the Civil Hospital and handed over to the victims’ families after post-mortems.

In a statement, the Shia Conference Balochistan condemned the killing and said provincial authorities had failed to protect citizens and urged the federal government to ensure an immediate arrest of killers.

BANGKOK, 25 January 2012 (IRIN) - About 150 asylum-seekers in Australia have suspended their hunger strike after accusing the government of reneging on a promise for community detention and bridging visas for long-term detainees who posed no risk, activists confirm.

At least 34 of the participants had been on hunger strike for a week.

"The ball is now in the government's court," Ian Rintoul, a spokesman for the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC), told IRIN from Sydney. "I hope this will be followed by action and not just words.".....Continue Reading....

Afghanistan has suffered from foreign meddling since its inception. But while Pakistan’s role has been widely discussed -- most Afghans will point to concrete examples -- Iran’s involvement is more subtle.

Iranian influence is all encompassing--the Islamic government funds Afghan Shiite sects and politicians, has invested in building roads and providing fuel and transport, and is fighting hard against the Afghan opium trade that supplies millions of addicts. But Iran’s lasting power on Afghanistan is cultural as well as political, broadcasting state radio and television programs inside Afghanistan....Continue Reading....

QUETTA: Gunmen shot dead three Shia Muslims on Wednesday in the southwestern city of Quetta , police and local intelligence officials said.

“Two gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on a car in Quetta city, killing three Shia Muslims including two government officials and a local television artist,” senior local police official, Muhammad Tariq told AFP.

He said it seemed like a sectarian attack, but the police had launched an investigation into the incident. A local intelligence official also confirmed the incident. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed since Baluch rebels rose up in 2004 against the federal Pakistani government, demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region’s oil, gas and mineral resources.

QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen killed three people, including a Federal Investigation Agency inspector and a television actor, near Quetta’s Mekangi Road on Wednesday.
Police said the victims were travelling in a car on Ibrahim Street on Mekangi Raod when the attackers, riding a motorcycle, opened fire at them, killing them on the spot. The assailants managed to escape from the scene.

Police rushed to the spot soon after the incident and cordoned off the area. The bodies were taken to Provincial Sandeman Hospital for an autopsy where they were identified as FIA Inspector Vilayat Hussain, actor Abid Nazish and Mohammad Anwar, an employee of the accountant-general of Balochistan’s office.

Hospital sources said the victims were shot in the upper torso, causing immediate death.
The motive behind the murders could not be known immediately. “Police are investigating the incident and it is premature to comment on possible reasons for the killing,” a senior police official said, on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, a man identified as Alam Khan was gunned down by unidentified people in Nawa Killi, a suburb of Quetta. The attackers escaped on a motorcycle while the body was moved to a state-run hospital for an autopsy. The motive behind the murder could be an old enmity, police sources said.

Monday, January 23, 2012

In a case that raises questions about the rigour of the security checks applied to boatpeople, Haji Saied Firooz Zadah, 59, was released from Christmas Island in April last year after he was found to be a refugee and was issued a permanent protection visa.

Seven months later, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen cancelled his visa after ASIO advised it regarded the Afghan national as a threat to security.

The winner of the NT 2011 HUMAN RIGHTS ART AWARD, Mr Javad Javadi, a former mason, will be arriving in Hobart in time to celebrate Australia Day.
Pontville Detention Centre is in receive mode awaiting his imminent arrival. Mr Javadi has produced some truly remarkable artworks including a model boat
which won him the coveted award in Darwin in December and a model house, a cross between an Afghan traditional home and an Australian suburban dream home ...Continue Reading...

Saturday, January 21, 2012

New Zealand moves to upgrade the airport at Bamiyan in Afghanistan as a flagship aid project have fallen foul of local bureaucracy, delaying the plan by a year and opening the way for Japan to step in and fund the work.

It is hoped a $7 million airport upgrade, including sealing the rough runway, will attract commercial tourism to the region, especially from the better-off in the capital Kabul, drawn by the world-famous Bamiyan Buddhas site and the Band-e Amir lakes...Continue Reading....

Around 30,000 Greek bhikkhus had arrived in Anuradhapura from the monasteries of Alasanda (the city of the Yonas, Alexandria in present Afghanistan) according to Geiger’s Mahavamsa (chapter XX1X (39)) to participate in the inauguration of the construction of the Mahaseya (Ruvanveliseya.) The Greek bhikkhus led by Yonamahadharmarakkhita Thera had been part of 96,000 foreign bhikkhus who had arrived from several ancient Indian states and Persia for the ceremonial event.

Evidently, Buddhism had been the vibrant force behind Sri Lanka’s interaction with foreign countries in early history and as studies reveal, Bactrian Greek (Indo-Greek) influence in days gone by has had a lasting impact on Sri Lanka.

Professor A.D.T.E. Perera of the Department of Philosophy, University of Mexico and former Editor of the Buddhist Encyclopaedia writing a scholarly essay on “Colossal Buddha Images of Ancient Sri Lanka” had stated that Bactrian Greek art influenced the sculpture of colossal images of the Buddha in Sri Lanka.

Bactrians, on leaving NW India spread out from Kabul to Punjab after their defeat by Chandragupta in the Mauryan Period. But having been attracted to the new Buddhist doctrine while they were in NW India, they, after their shift, sculpted imposing images of the Buddha in standing position in the Bamiyan Region in Afghanistan which were destroyed by the Taliban a few years ago.

These images Professor Perera states led to the ideas pertaining to the turning out of colossal statues of the Buddha in Sri Lanka. The first attempt was the carving of the Avukana Buddha Image in the ancient Rajarata.

The Avukana Buddha statue and inset, the Bamiyan Buddha statue

Bactrian images of the Buddha in the Bamiyan region in Afghanistan Prof. Perera traces may have been a veritable source of inspiration to the early artists who crossed the Kabul valley which linked the Southern branch of the Great Northern Highway referred to in the early Buddhist and Indian texts as “Uttarapada” – the trade route of the then known world which bridged the East and the West on commercial, political and cultural levels.

Traders, pilgrims and even men of learning had crossed the region in search of various fortunes. Prof. Perera says that Sri Lankans too may have had links with this ancient world known as Gandhara which covered a vast area extending beyond NW India and it was such religio-cultural-trade contacts that had prevailed between Sri Lanka and the Gandhara region that may have led to the invitation to be extended by King Dutugamunu to the Greek bhikkhus to participate in the inauguration of the construction of the Mahaseya.

According to the essay, archaeological researchers and art historians distinguish a close similarity between the Avukana image with that of the Bamiyan. The Bamiyan region had been referred to in early Buddhist Prakrit as Vokkana, Avakana or Vakana. The name Avukana it is surmised had been derived for the colossal statue in Sri Lanka from the name of the Bamiyan region.

Bactrian Greek Buddhist artists had been very active in the 2nd or the 3rd centuries BC in the Bamiyan region in West Asia and the Buddha images silhouetted against the vast sandy valley bearing a calm and serene composure may have been an awe-inspiring vision for the travellers who passed by. The images had stood at 112 and 172 feet respectively and were housed within their own chapels.

The 43 feet tall Avukana Buddha image depicts the abhaya mudra with the right hand raised towards the right shoulder indicating that the devotee is protected from all fears (bhaya.) The raised left hand is touching the left shoulder with the palm turning towards the Buddha – a gesture seeking the Buddha to release the devotee from sentient bondage (samsara). The back of the image is not separated from the rock boulder out of which the figure is hewn.

Professor Perera however states that the Maligavila Buddha image, 52 feet in height with its lotus pedestal, was considered as one of the world’s tallest standing images sculpted in ancient times. It was discovered in southern Sri Lanka fallen with broken limbs and beaten by the elements. This may have been due to the fact that the image carved on limestone was sculpted on the round. It may have fallen unlike other images since it was separated from a living rock. The third colossal Buddha image which Professor Perera had discussed was found at Sasseruva close to Anuradhapura. Sculpted in high relief with the back cleaving to the living rock boulder, the image was either badly weatherworn when it was found or left unfinished by the sculptor. Although it falls short of the elegance of the Avukana image, it bears the same features with regard to stylistic concepts, the hand posture, the method of wearing the “civara” with the right shoulder kept bare and the drapery delineated by parallel ridges as followed by sculptors of the classical period.

These Buddha images are dated to around the 4th – the 6th centuries in the present era. All colossal Bamiyan statues had been sculpted by those who advocated Mahayana Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism it is believed had its birth in the Bamiyan part of the Gandhara region. Professor Perera states that the concept of portraying the Buddha in super human qualities – as a saviour of all human and divine beings was followed wherever Mahayana Buddhism spread.

The concept of the bodhisatvas belonging to the Mahayana pantheon eventually had found its way into the ensemble of architectural compositions of colossal sculptures in Sri Lanka. Close to the Maligavila Buddha image, a huge bodhisatva image had been disovered. And in the group of colossal sculptures at Buduruvagala, the primary image of the Buddha is flanked by bodhisatva Avalokitheshvara of the Mahayana pantheon with Goddess Tara. On the other side is the bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta with his consort Prajna – all referred to as acolytes of Buddha Amitabha who resides in Sukhavati.
The colossal Buddha in parinibbana manca (death bed) sculpted in the Polonnaruwa period does not belong to the Mahayana pantheon. But Professor Perera says that the concept had gained currency even after the fall of Anuradhapura and hence the Polonnaruwa images belonged to the last lap in the classical period of Sinhala art.

The Greeks’ entry to the Buddhist theatre in India could be traced to the invasion of Alexander in 334 BC when he captured some parts of the NW India extending as far as the Indus. With the conquest and setting up of Greek settlements, his Greek garrison and a host of camp-followers had poured into NW India who may have been assimilated into the Indian populace. These Greeks, fascinated by the new Buddhist doctrine introduced about 200 years earlier, had embraced Buddhism. Some had joined the Bhikku Order.

Although Alexander’s rule in India ended with his death 18 months later, Greek influence continued for several more centuries. It is recorded that Emperor Dharmashoka (about 273-232 BC) in the Mauryan Period sent Greek Bhikkhus such as Dharmarakkhita and Mahadharmarakkhita Theros to Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, Cyrene and Epirus as emissaries of Dhamma.

In the pre-Graeco period, the image of the Buddha in India was represented symbolically by His Footprints, a lotus, the Bodhi, the Dharmachakra, the Caitya etc. From the Greek-Indian fusion rose the Graeco-Buddhist art of Gandhara when Greeks contributed to the sculpted work of the Ashoka Pillars and to the commencement of the Mauryan art with Buddha image carved.

In the earliest sculptures excavated in the Gandhara sites, the Greek influence is seen in the representations of the Buddha where the Buddha had been elevated to a God. The Bactrians who had spread out from NW India and Kabul to Punjab and West Asia progressed into portraying the Buddha figure in superhuman qualities which brought about the origins of the titanic image of the Buddha. With the spread of Mahayana the concept too spread.

Besides the colossal images of the Buddha, Greek influence on early literature is discussed by Professor Merlin Peris in his book titled “Mahavamsa Studies Greek myths in Ancient Tradition” where he discloses an element of Greek mythology in certain anecdotes related in the Mahavamsa.

Elaborating on his statement he says that L.S. Perera, A.L. Basham and G. C. Mendis in the “University of Ceylon, History of Ceylon” had commented on the affinities which could be seen in Vijaya-Kuveni affair with that of the Greek adventure of Odysseus with Circe in Homer. Professor Peris says that besides, the Greek myth Jason and Medea is emulated in the killing of the yakshas with Kuveni’s help and the dismissal of her and her children for a royal marriage (men are afraid of enchantresses.)
Greek story motifs Professor Peris says may have found their way into the “Attakatha Mahavamsa” (pre-Mahavamsa literary work) before being incorporated by the Mahavamsa author when he wrote on the reigns of our earliest kings.

Professor Peris sees motifs of the Greek myth of Danae in the episodes of Ummadacitta, certain early heroes and the sacrifice of Viharamahadevi. However, while Professor Peris’ interpretation of incorporation of Greek story motifs in the earliest literary tradition gives food for thought, Greek impact on Sri Lankan religio-culture illustrates the fact that Sri Lanka had been very much in the international whirlpool.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Heavy snow that has blanketed large parts of Afghanistan, killing at least 20 people, could end a long-running drought that last summer threatened millions of people with severe food shortages, government and aid officials said on Wednesday.

But the weekend snowfall and avalanches across the mountainous north and centre could bring a bitter winter and short-term hardship to many people, with many roads still cut off, hampering food delivery in several hard-hit provinces...Continue Reading...

“Ordinary Shias going about their daily lives are being increasingly targeted and killed,” said Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan director for Human Rights Watch, which is based in New York.

While sectarian bloodshed occurs throughout Pakistan, it is concentrated in Baluchistan, a sprawling northwestern province where Taliban fighters and nationalist insurgents roam. Human Rights Watch reports that more than 300 Shiites, many from the ethnic Hazara community, have been killed in Baluchistan since 2008....Continue Reading....

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

DISEASES and the lack of proper hygiene, healthcare and clean drinking water are huge challenges in Afghanistan. The country has long been engaged in civil war and is isolated from mainstream development.
Two Malaysian Army doctors, Captain (Dr) Rina Sumira Sukri and Captain (Dr) Juhanis Safira Johari, both 28, relate their experiences serving with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), to render humanitarian aid to the locals....Continue Reading....

DELHI: Steel Authority of India is confident that winning the iron-ore mining contract in Afghanistan will give the state-run company an edge over rivals in bids for exploring other minerals in the war-torn country.

"We are considering biding for other assets in Afghanistan too, including copper and gold blocks. We have bid and won such a big iron ore project. Once we have a base in Afghanistan, we will be in a better position to exploit other minerals too," SAIL chairman CS Verma said...Continue Reading..

Monday, January 16, 2012

The current predicament of ethnic and religious minorities in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a cause of grave concern, and it is essential for the international community to be aware of multiple complexities and rivalries in the region. For this article I partnered with an ethnic Hazara human rights activist and Chinese-educated medical doctor, M. Saleem Javed, based in Quetta, Pakistan to provide a brief history of this threatened community and to document the challenges they are currently facing...Continue Reading....

In a bid to transform Afghanistan from a war-ravaged nation to an economically prosperous one, its government is sparing no efforts to woo Indian investors. Afghan Mines Minister Wahidullah Shahrani who was in New Delhi last week spells out his expectations from India and his government’s blueprint to facilitate investments from the country to Priyadarshi Siddhanta. Excerpts:

Can you elaborate on Afghanistan’s mineral resources? How much foreign investment are you eyeing in the mining sector?

Afghanistan has a huge mineral resource base. According to global estimates, we are sitting over $ 2.5 trillion of untapped resources. We have huge copper mines at Balkhab and Aynak areas. Besides, we have substantial reserves of rich quality iron ore at Hajigak in the Bamiyan district and also virgin coal reserves. We are sure that by developing these mines, we will be able to generate much-needed employment for our people and also mobilise additional resources...Continue Reading..

Sunday, January 15, 2012

MONDAY, 16 JANUARY 2012 01:45
An Afghan youth delegation, which is travelling in India to learn Gandhian practices and belief, wish to learn how to mobilise people from villages to protest without violence, writes Zafar Alam Khan. Apart from other characteristics India is well known for its peace policies across the globe.

The world famous peace mascots of the country like Gandhi and Buddha still attract peace lovers from across the universe; the latest example is an Afghan youth delegation that is on a-month-long tour of India to learn and practise peace.

‘Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers’ from a small village near Bamiyan, Faiz Mohammed (22), Abdul Ali (16) and Ali (15), along with their mentor Hakeem, are accompanied by three-time Noble Peace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly who co-coordinates ‘Voices for Creative Non-violence’ (VCNV) and British peace campaigner Maya Evans were in Bhopal to learn how to be peace activist....Continue Reading...

The main processions of Tazia, Alam and Zul Jinna were taken out from Punjabi Imambargah Alamdar Road which culminated at Hazara graveyard after marching on its traditional route.

Scores of mourners accompanied the procession and the scholars shed light upon the supreme sacrifice of Imam Hussein (RA), his relatives and companions at Karbala for upholding the principles of truth and justice.

City police and personnel of other law enforcing agencies had sealed the roads leading to the route of the procession while a large number of police personnel were also deployed at a various points. (APP):
THE NEWS

QUETTA: In another sectarian killing incident, Musa Khan, a security guard was gunned down in Jam colony imambargah on Sunday. According to police, unidentified armed men riding a motorcycle, opened fire near the imambargah, injuring the guard. Police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area. Musa Khan was shifted to the civil hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. “The motive of the killing could not be known and investigations are underway,” police said. staff report.

Friday, January 13, 2012

AFISCO has won bid for Hajigak mines with estimated iron ore reserves of 1.7 billion tonnes
Steel Authority of India (Sail) led consortium will begin negotiations on January 21 with the Afghanistan government on the proposed $10.7 billion investment in development of mines, infrastructure and setting up power and steel plants at Hajigak....Continue Reading....

Japan announced an aid package of USD 25 million for the construction of schools in Bamiyan, Daikundi and Ghor provinces of Afghanistan.

The agreement was signed between Education Ministry of Afghanistan, Japan Ambassador to Afghanistan and UNICEF representative for Afghanistan.

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Education of Afghananistan, the aid package will be spent to construct schools in regions where people do not have access to proper education facilities.

The source further added, the construction work of schools will be completed in the three years.
Afghan Education Minister Farooq Wardak quoted in the press release said, the Education Ministry of Afghanistan struggling to pave the way for providing education for all and is looking to arrange education facilities in all provinces of Afghanistan.

In the meantime, Japan Ambassador to Afghanistan Richero Takahashi while pointing towards the importance of education in Afghanistan said, the new package is vital for the reconstruction of schools in Afghanistan despite more than 50% of of provinces in Afghanistan lacks education infrastructures.

According to sources in Afghan Education Ministry, more than 8 million population of Afghanistan is comprised of school students.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Mohammad Reza Wefaq is a 24-year-old engineering undergraduate now studying in Ankara, Turkey’s capital city. “I was studying in Bamiyan University in Afghanistan before I came to Turkey,” he says. “The Turkish government pay 100 per cent of my costs to study here and without it I would never have been able to pay the fees. I, too, have found the people to be lovely. My friends here are wonderful.”...Continue Reading...

AFTER feeling like all hope was lost, the refugee family of the man killed in the Ladysmith crash last month are only one step away from being able to find closure.
Following an influx of kindness from refugee networks across Australia, the family now have enough money to buy airfares to attend Sarwar Rezai’s funeral and give him a proper burial which is important under Shiite Islam. Australian Migration Options agent Libby Hogarth said they had raised $7000 after sending out a plea for donations and that would be enough to cover the airfares for Mr Rezai’s wife, four children and grandchild who currently live in Quetta, Pakistan.....Continue Reading.....

Sunday, January 8, 2012

QUETTA: Five people including three children died due to suffocation in the provincial capital Quetta and adjoining town Kuchlak at night between Saturday and Sunday.

Police sources said gas supply to the areas was suspendedat Saturday night. Later, when people were sleeping, gas supply was restored late night which caused gas suffocation. Police further said that a couple identified as Salman and his wife Gul Khanam were killed in their house Hazara Town of Quetta city. Three children of Molvi Rehmatullah also died in Khuchlak Town, some 25 kilometers from Quetta.

They were identified as 10-year-old Hikmat, eight-year-old Zul-Qaida and 13-year-old Shakira Bibi.

The bodies were handed over to the heirs after legal formalities, Police said.

It is pertinent to mention here that presently Quetta and outskirts have been experiencing minus 11 C temperatures and cold, frosty and cloudy weather. (APP)

Friday, January 6, 2012

HAIRATAN, Jan 6, 2012 (IPS) - Last month the first cargo train crossed the ‘Friendship Bridge’ from Uzbekistan to the border town Hairatan in northern Afghanistan, and rolled along 75 kilometres of newly laid track to Mazar-e-Sharif. The importance of the northern trade route - which connects Central Asia’s Northern Distribution Network (NDN) to Afghanistan - has increased since the U.S. and Pakistan’s relationship drastically soured...Reading Continue....

WORLD HERITAGE is big business, bringing hordes of tourists to poor countries that can use the jobs and the cash. It can also overwhelm the very sites it is designed to protect with all the less-savory aspects of mass travel, from chain hotels and restaurants to the impact of thousands of sport-shoed feet treading on fragile ground.....Continue Reading.....

Just after a few weeks after a bloody attack on Hazaras in Kabul and within new diplomatic dialogue between the Obama regime and the Taliban, the Norwegian authorities have decided to deport a young Hazara asylum seeker back to a perilous situation.

M. Mozamil Azimi is an eighteen year old Hazara boy, his home country is in the midst of an international crisis and public interest , ongoing now for more than a decade. This country is called Afghanistan, and one of the worst places in the world in which to be born according to Save the Children Fund. It is also a country with the lowest rate of human/economic development according to the United Nations....Continue Reading...

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Adding to the miseries of Hazara Shias, who are already living under the severe kind of persecution and violence in Pakistani provincial capital Quetta at the hands of radical Shia haters i.e. likes of Malik Ishaq who had been released earlier this year as a result of so called peace deal between Pakistani security establishment and the banned outfits to placate the sectarian organization, Obama administration is all set to hand over another notorious Shia killer Mullah Mohammed Fazl to Afghanistan as part of a long-shot bid to improve prospects of peace deal in Afghanistan. Mullah Mohammed Fazl is a high risk detainee held at Guantanamo Bay military prison since earlier 2002. Mullah was held responsible by the UN for the massacre of thousands of Hazara Shias in Bamian and Yakaolang between 1998 and 2001 during the Taliban rule in Afghanistan....Continue Reading...

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan chief Zohra Yousuf has said that members of the minority Hindu and Hazara communities had been compelled to seek sanctuary abroad as they were facing numerous problems within the country.

Yousuf made the remarks while speaking at the launch of a HRCP report on problems faced by religious minorities at the Karachi Press Club last week.

She expressed concern at growing problems confronting the minorities.

The growing threats to minorities had been compounded by the government’s failure to take measures to address them.

Targeted killings, kidnappings for ransom, and incidents of violence and intimidation linked to religion had shaken the confidence of minorities in the state’s ability to effectively protect them, she said.

Shia Hazaras from Balochistan and Hindus had felt compelled to seek sanctuary abroad, she said.

At the same time, raising the issue of the rights of non-Muslims too had become increasingly dangerous, she said.

Yousuf noted that the authorities had failed to make any breakthrough in apprehending the killers of federal minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian.

Bhatti was gunned down by terrorists near his home in Islamabad last year after he criticised the controversial blasphemy law.

The government has not taken any action on promises of revising or repealing laws misused by radical elements to persecute the minorities, Yousuf said.

Authorities remained passive spectators in the face of hate speeches against religious minorities and this emboldened those who instigated violence, she added.

The government’s commission for minorities was an eyewash and there is no effective forum to protect minorities from intimidation and discrimination, she said.

The government had also failed to take steps to prevent forced conversions and to give minorities adequate representation in parliament, Yousuf said.